His Great Hour
Saturday night at eight o’clock.
So the fiat1 had gone forth2, with no concession3 to be made on account of weather.
As Oswald came from his supper and took a look at the heavens from the small front porch, he was deeply troubled that Orlando had remained so obstinate4 on this point. For there were ominous5 clouds rolling up from the east, and the storms in this region of high mountains and abrupt6 valleys were not light, nor without danger even to those with feet well planted upon mother earth.
If the tempest should come up before eight!
Mr. Challoner, who, from some mysterious impulse of bravado7 on the part of Brotherson, was to be allowed to make the third in this small band of spectators, was equally concerned at this sight, but not for Brotherson. His fears were for Oswald, whose slowly gathering8 strength could illy bear the strain which this additional anxiety for his brother’s life must impose upon him. As for Doris, she was in a state of excitement more connected with the past than with the future. That afternoon she had laid her hand in that of Orlando Brotherson, and wished him well. She! in whose breast still lingered reminiscences of those old doubts which had beclouded his image for her at their first meeting. She had not been able to avoid it. His look was a compelling one, and it had demanded thus much from her; and — a terrible thought to her gentle spirit — he might be going to his death!
It had been settled by the prospective9 aviator10 that they were to watch for the ascent11 from the mouth of the grassy12 road leading in to the hangar. The three were to meet there at a quarter to eight and await the stroke and the air-cars rise. That time was near, and Mr. Challoner, catching13 a glimpse of Oswald’s pallid14 and unnaturally15 drawn16 features, as he set down the lantern he carried, shuddered17 with foreboding and wished the hour passed.
Doris’ watchful18 glance never left the face whose lightest change was more to her than all Orlando’s hopes. But the result upon her was not to weaken her resolution, but to strengthen it. Whatever the outcome of the next few minutes, she must stand ready to sustain her invalid19 through it. That the darkness of early evening had deepened to oppression, was unnoticed for the moment. The fears of an hour past had been forgotten. Their attention was too absorbed in what was going on before them, for even a glance overhead.
Suddenly Mr. Challoner spoke20.
“Who is the man whom Mr. Brotherson has asked to go up with him?”
It was Oswald who answered.
“He has never told me. He has kept his own counsel about that as about everything else connected with this matter. He simply advised me that I was not to bother about him any more; that he had found the assistant he wanted.”
“Such reticence21 seems unpardonable. You have — displayed great patience, Oswald.”
“Because I understand Orlando. He reads men’s natures like a book. The man he trusts, we may trust. To-morrow, he will speak openly enough. All cause for reticence will be gone.
“You have confidence then in the success of this undertaking22?”
“If I hadn’t, I should not be here. I could hardly bear to witness his failure, even in a secret test like this. I should find it too hard to face him afterwards.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Orlando has great pride. If this enterprise fails I cannot answer for him. He would be capable of anything. Why, Doris! what is the matter, child? I never saw you look like that before.”
She had been down on her knees regulating the lantern, and the sudden flame, shooting up, had shown him her face turned up towards his in an apprehension23 which verged25 on horror.
“Do I look frightened?” she asked, remembering herself and lightly rising. “I believe that I am a little frightened. If — if anything should go wrong! If an accident-” But here she remembered herself again and quickly changed her tone. “But your confidence shall be mine. I will believe in his good angel or — or in his self-command and great resolution. I’ll not be frightened any more.”
But Oswald did not seem satisfied. He continued to look at her in vague concern.
He hardly knew what to make of the intense feeling she had manifested. Had Orlando touched her girlish heart? Had this cold-blooded nature, with its steel-like brilliancy and honourable26 but stern views of life, moved this warm and sympathetic soul to more than admiration27? The thought disturbed him so he forgot the nearness of the moment they were all awaiting till a quick rasping sound from the hangar, followed by the sudden appearance of an ever-widening band of light about its upper rim28, drew his attention and awakened29 them all to a breathless expectation.
The lid was rising. Now it was half-way up, and now, for the first time, it was lifted to its full height and stood a broad oval disc against the background of the forest. The effect was strange. The hangar had been made brilliant by many lamps, and their united glare pouring from its top and illuminating30 not only the surrounding treetops but the broad face of this uplifted disc, roused in the awed31 spectator a thrill such as in mythological32 times might have greeted the sudden sight of Vulcan’s smithy blazing on Olympian hills. But the clang of iron on iron would have attended the flash and gleam of those unexpected fires, and here all was still save for that steady throb33 never heard in Olympus or the halls of Valhalla, the pant of the motor eager for flight in the upper air.
As they listened in a trance of burning hope which obliterated34 all else, this noise and all others near and distant, was suddenly lost in a loud clatter35 of writhing36 and twisting boughs37 which set the forest in a roar and seemed to heave the air about them.
A wind had swooped38 down from the east, bending everything before it and rattling39 the huge oval on which their eyes were fixed40 as though it would tear it from its hinges.
The three caught at each other’s hands in dismay. The storm had come just on the verge24 of the enterprise, and no one might guess the result.
“Will he dare? Will he dare?” whispered Doris, and Oswald answered, though it seemed next to impossible that he could have heard her:
“He will dare. But will he survive it? Mr. Challoner,” he suddenly shouted in that gentleman’s ear, “what time is it now?”
Mr. Challoner, disengaging himself from their mutual41 grasp, knelt down by the lantern to consult his watch.
“One minute to eight,” he shouted back.
The forest was now a pandemonium42. Great boughs, split from their parent trunks, fell crashing to the ground in all directions. The scream of the wind roused echoes which repeated themselves, here, there and everywhere. No rain had fallen yet, but the sight of the clouds skurrying pell-mell through the glare thrown up from the shed, created such havoc43 in the already overstrained minds of the three onlookers44, that they hardly heeded45, when with a clatter and crash which at another time would have startled them into flight, the swaying oval before them was whirled from its hinges and thrown back against the trees already bending under the onslaught of the tempest. Destruction seemed the natural accompaniment of the moment, and the only prayer which sprang to Oswald’s lips was that the motor whose throb yet lingered in their blood though no longer taken in by the ear, would either refuse to work or prove insufficient46 to lift the heavy car into this seething47 tumult48 of warring forces. His brother’s life hung in the balance against his fame, and he could not but choose life for him. Yet, as the multitudinous sounds about him yielded for a moment to that brother’s shout, and he knew that the moment had come, which would soon settle all, he found himself staring at the elliptical edge of the hangar, with an anticipation49 which held in it as much terror as joy, for the end of a great hope or the beginning of a great triumph was compressed into this trembling instant and if —
Great God! he sees it! They all see it! Plainly against that portion of the disc which still lifted itself above the further wall, a curious moving mass appears, lengthens50, takes on shape, then shoots suddenly aloft, clearing the encircling tops of the bending, twisting and tormented51 trees, straight into the heart of the gale52, where for one breathless moment it whirls madly about like a thing distraught, then in slow but triumphant53 obedience54 to the master hand that guides it, steadies and mounts majestically55 upward till it is lost to their view in the depths of impenetrable darkness.
Orlando Brotherson has accomplished56 his task. He has invented a mechanism57 which can send an air-car straight up from its mooring58 place. As the three watchers realise this, Oswald utters a cry of triumph, and Doris throws herself into Mr. Challoner’s arms. Then they all stand transfixed again, waiting for a descent which may never come.
But hark! a new sound, mingling59 its clatter with all the others. It is the rain. Quick, maddening, drenching60, it comes; enveloping61 them in wet in a moment. Can they hold their faces up against it?
And the wind! Surely it must toss that aerial messenger before it and fling it back to earth, a broken and despised toy.
“Orlando?” went up in a shriek62. “Orlando?” Oh, for a ray of light in those far-off heavens For a lull63 in the tremendous sounds shivering the heavens and shaking the earth! But the tempest rages on, and they can only wait, five minutes, ten minutes, looking, hoping, fearing, without thought of self and almost without thought of each other, till suddenly as it had come, the rain ceases and the wind, with one final wail64 of rage and defeat, rushes away into the west, leaving behind it a sudden silence which, to their terrified hearts, seems almost more dreadful to bear than the accumulated noises of the moment just gone.
Orlando was in that shout of natural forces, but he is not in this stillness. They look aloft, but the heavens are void. Emptiness is where life was. Oswald begins to sway, and Doris, remembering him now and him only, has thrown her strong young arm about him, when — What is this sound they hear high up, high up, in the rapidly clearing vault65 of the heavens! A throb — a steady pant,— drawing near and yet nearer,— entering the circlet of great branches over their heads — descending66, slowly descending,— till they catch another glimpse of those hazy67 outlines which had no sooner taken shape than the car disappeared from their sight within the elliptical wall open to receive it.
It had survived the gale! It has re-entered its haven68, and that, too, without colliding with aught around or any shock to those within, just as Orlando had promised; and the world was henceforth his! Hail to Orlando Brotherson!
Oswald could hardly restrain his mad joy and enthusiasm. Bounding to the door separating him from this conqueror69 of almost invincible70 forces, he pounded it with impatient fist.
“Let me in!” he cried. “You’ve done the trick, Orlando, you’ve done the trick.”
“Yes, I have satisfied myself,” came back in studied self-control from the other side of the door; and with a quick turning of the lock, Orlando stood before them.
They never forgot him as he looked at that moment. He was drenched71, battered72, palpitating with excitement; but the majesty73 of success was in his eye and in the bearing of his incomparable figure.
As Oswald bounded towards him, he reached out his hand, but his glance was for Doris.
“Yes,” he went on, in tones of suppressed elation74, “there’s no flaw in my triumph. I have done all that I set out to do. Now —”
Why did he stop and look hurriedly back into the hangar? He had remembered Sweetwater. Sweetwater, who at that moment was stepping carefully from his seat in some remote portion of the car. The triumph was not complete. He had meant —
But there his thought stopped. Nothing of evil, nothing even of regret should mar75 his great hour. He was a conqueror, and it was for him now to reap the joy of conquest.
收听单词发音 |
1
fiat
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| n.命令，法令，批准；vt.批准，颁布 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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concession
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| n.让步，妥协；特许(权) | |
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obstinate
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| adj.顽固的，倔强的，不易屈服的，较难治愈的 | |
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ominous
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| adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的 | |
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abrupt
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| adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的 | |
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bravado
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| n.虚张声势，故作勇敢，逞能 | |
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gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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prospective
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| adj.预期的，未来的，前瞻性的 | |
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aviator
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| n.飞行家，飞行员 | |
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ascent
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| n.(声望或地位)提高；上升，升高；登高 | |
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grassy
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| adj.盖满草的；长满草的 | |
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catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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pallid
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| adj.苍白的，呆板的 | |
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unnaturally
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| adv.违反习俗地；不自然地；勉强地；不近人情地 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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shuddered
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| v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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18
watchful
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| adj.注意的，警惕的 | |
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invalid
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| n.病人，伤残人；adj.有病的，伤残的；无效的 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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reticence
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| n.沉默，含蓄 | |
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undertaking
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| n.保证，许诺，事业 | |
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apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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verge
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| n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临 | |
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verged
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| 接近，逼近（verge的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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26
honourable
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| adj.可敬的；荣誉的，光荣的 | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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28
rim
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| n.(圆物的)边，轮缘；边界 | |
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29
awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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30
illuminating
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| a.富于启发性的，有助阐明的 | |
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31
awed
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| adj.充满敬畏的，表示敬畏的v.使敬畏，使惊惧( awe的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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32
mythological
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| adj.神话的 | |
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33
throb
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| v.震颤，颤动；(急速强烈地)跳动，搏动 | |
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34
obliterated
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| v.除去( obliterate的过去式和过去分词 )；涂去；擦掉；彻底破坏或毁灭 | |
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35
clatter
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| v./n.(使)发出连续而清脆的撞击声 | |
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writhing
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| （因极度痛苦而）扭动或翻滚( writhe的现在分词 ) | |
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boughs
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| 大树枝( bough的名词复数 ) | |
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38
swooped
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| 俯冲，猛冲( swoop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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39
rattling
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| adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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mutual
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| adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的 | |
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pandemonium
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| n.喧嚣，大混乱 | |
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havoc
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| n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱 | |
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onlookers
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| n.旁观者，观看者( onlooker的名词复数 ) | |
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heeded
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| v.听某人的劝告，听从( heed的过去式和过去分词 )；变平，使（某物）变平( flatten的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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46
insufficient
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| adj.(for，of)不足的，不够的 | |
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seething
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| 沸腾的，火热的 | |
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48
tumult
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| n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹 | |
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anticipation
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| n.预期，预料，期望 | |
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50
lengthens
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| （时间或空间）延长，伸长( lengthen的第三人称单数 ) | |
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51
tormented
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| 饱受折磨的 | |
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52
gale
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| n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等） | |
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53
triumphant
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| adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的 | |
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54
obedience
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| n.服从，顺从 | |
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majestically
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| 雄伟地； 庄重地； 威严地； 崇高地 | |
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56
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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57
mechanism
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| n.机械装置；机构，结构 | |
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58
mooring
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| n.停泊处；系泊用具，系船具；下锚v.停泊，系泊（船只）(moor的现在分词) | |
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mingling
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| adj.混合的 | |
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drenching
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| n.湿透v.使湿透( drench的现在分词 )；在某人（某物）上大量使用（某液体） | |
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enveloping
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| v.包围，笼罩，包住( envelop的现在分词 ) | |
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shriek
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| v./n.尖叫，叫喊 | |
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lull
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| v.使安静，使入睡，缓和，哄骗；n.暂停，间歇 | |
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64
wail
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| vt./vi.大声哀号，恸哭；呼啸，尖啸 | |
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vault
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| n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室 | |
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descending
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| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
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hazy
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| adj.有薄雾的，朦胧的；不肯定的，模糊的 | |
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haven
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| n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所 | |
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conqueror
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| n.征服者，胜利者 | |
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70
invincible
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| adj.不可征服的，难以制服的 | |
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71
drenched
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| adj.湿透的；充满的v.使湿透( drench的过去式和过去分词 )；在某人（某物）上大量使用（某液体） | |
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battered
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| adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损 | |
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majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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elation
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| n.兴高采烈，洋洋得意 | |
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mar
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| vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟 | |
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